Women’s Golf Takes Perfect Start to Oklahoma

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After winning the first two tournaments of the season for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign, Purdue Women's Golf looks to remain unbeaten. The Boilermakers take their perfect record to Belmar Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma for the Schooner Fall Classic (Sept. 23-25).
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 23: Round 1 (Tee Times beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET)
Sunday, Sept. 24: Round 2 (Tee Times beginning at 10 a.m. ET)
Monday, Sept. 25: Round 3 (Tee Times beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET)
 
THE LINEUP
Ashley Kozlowski – Sr.

• Playing in her 31st tournament as a Boilermaker, more than anyone on the current team
• Led Purdue to a win in the Mary Fossum Invitational, finishing runner-up individually for the second time in her career with a season-low 214 (73-71-70)
• Holds a 72.50 stroke average
• Big Ten Preseason Watch List
• Appeared in 11 of the 12 tournaments a season ago, ranking second on the team with a 73.75 stroke average
• Made a team-best four eagles throughout last season
• Tied for fourth at the NCAA Raleigh Regional with a season-low 213 (-3), nearly qualifying for the national championships as an individual
• Named B1G Women's Golfer of the Week (Feb. 15), becoming the first Boilermaker to earn the honor since 2019 after leading Purdue to a win at the Tulane Classic and placing runner-up for the best finish of her career
• Starred in the classroom as an aeronautical and astronautical engineering major, earning several academic honors: WGCAA All-American Scholar Team, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten

 
Kan Bunnabodee – Sr.

• Leads the team in stroke average (70.50), birdies (26), team-low round (3) and rounds in the 60s (2)
• Is making her 30th appearance as a Boilermaker
• Paced Purdue to a team victory at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic, placing a career-best runner-up on the individual leaderboard with a 9-under 207 (75-63-69), tying for the third-lowest 54-hole total in program history
• Became the first Boilermaker in school history to shoot 63 (-9), breaking current LPGA member Paula Reto's 11-year old record of 64
• Led the field in birdies (13) and par-3 scoring (-2), helping Purdue win the Mary Fossum Invitational and tying for fourth on the individual leaderboard (72-71-73—216)
• Big Ten Preseason Watch List
• 2021-22 First Team All-Big Ten
• Two-time Academic All-Big Ten

 
Jocelyn Bruch – Sr.

• Making her 23rd appearance as a Boilermaker
• Leads the team in pars (80) and rounds in the 60s (2)
• Ranks second on the team in stroke average (71.50)
• Paced the field in par-4 scoring (-3) to help the Boilermakers win the Mary Fossum Invitational, tying for seventh on the individual leaderboard for her second career Top 10 (76-70-71—217)
• Cracked the Top 10 for the first time in her career, tying for sixth to help Purdue win the Boilermaker Classic
• Her 4-under 212 (69-69-74) bested her previous career low by five strokes and her consecutive 69s were her lowest rounds as a Boilermaker
• Played in 10 tournaments a season ago, producing a 75.69 stroke average
• Recorded the team-low round three times throughout last season
• Won the Hoosier Amateur over the summer
• Two-time Academic All-Big Ten

Natasha Kiel – Jr.

• Making her third appearance as a Boilermaker, but playing in her 15th collegiate tournament
• Ranked second in par-4 scoring (-1) and tied for ninth (73-72-73—218) to help the Boilermakers win the Mary Fossum Invitational
• In her Purdue debut, tied for 37th (79-74-71—224) to help the team win the Boilermaker Classic
• Transferred to Purdue after two seasons at Vanderbilt
• Last season, played in eight tournaments and produced a 74.4 stroke average
• Fired a career-low 66 in the second round of the Mason Rudolph Championship last fall
• Landed on the SEC Academic Honor Roll at the conclusion of last season
• Named to the 2021-22 SEC All-Freshman Team

 
Momo Sugiyama – Jr.

• Making her 15th appearance as a Boilermaker after playing in all 12 tournaments a season ago
• Started the season with her fourth Top 10 as a Boilermaker, tying for ninth at the Boilermaker Classic with a 1-under 215 (73-69-73)
• Produced her eighth Top 20 finish by tying for 19th at the Mary Fossum Invitational
• Big Ten Preseason Watch List
• 2022-23 Second Team All-Big Ten
• Tied Purdue's single-season record with six rounds in the 60s last year
• Started the 2022-23 season ranked No. 647 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and ended it at No. 201
• Led the team in stroke average (73.31), team-low round (14), rounds in the 60s (6) and pars (410) last season
• Held a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout the school year, collecting several academic accolades: WGCAA All-American Scholar Team, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten

 
Jasmine Kahler – Fr. (Competing as an individual)

• Playing in her second tournament as a Boilermaker
• Competing as an individual, tied for 22nd at the Boilermaker Classic (73-72-76—221) in her Purdue debut
• Produced a 72.5 stroke average during her final high school season, including a 34.8 average for nine-hole matches
• Won the San Diego Section CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) at Torrey Pines and led her team to a fifth-place finish at the CIF State Championship to become the 2022 CIF San Diego Player of the Year
• First team all-league honoree all four years of high school, while posting the lowest scoring differential in the CIF San Diego Section back-to-back years as a junior and senior

 
THE FIELD
Florida State
Houston
Illinois
Iowa State
K-State
New Mexico
North Texas
Oklahoma (host)
Oklahoma State
Purdue
TCU
Texas State
Tulsa
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
 
THE COURSE

• Belmar Golf Club, a par 70 course, will play at 6,182 yards for the Schooner Fall Classic.
• The course opened in 2002 and was designed by Tripp Davis.
• The back nine is unique, a par 34 layout measuring 2,845 yards with only one par 5 and a trio of par 3s.

 
UNBEATEN SEASON CONTINUES

• Entering the final round eight shots back of host Michigan State, Purdue flipped the script and fired a final round 284 (-4) to win the Mary Fossum Invitational by 10 strokes.
• Purdue was 6-under (290-284-284—858) on the par 72 West Course at Forest Akers GC, the only team to finish under par and just one shot off the tournament record. The Boilermakers defeated a field of 14 other teams that included five Big Ten programs. The three-round total also cracked the Top 10 for one of the lowest 54-hole scores in program history.
• The Boilermakers played the par 4s a combined 5-over to lead all teams, including 16 shots better than Michigan State. Purdue also paced the field in par-3 scoring (-2) and birdies (47).
• Four Boilermakers finished in the Top 10 of the individual leaderboard. Ashley Kozlowski led the way, ending the tournament at 2-under to place runner-up for the second time in her career. Kan Bunnabodee earned her second Top 5 of the season, tying for fourth at even par (72-71-73—216) and leading the entire field in birdies (13) and par-3 scoring (-2). Jocelyn Bruch tied for seventh (+1) for her second Top 10 of the 2023-24 campaign. Playing her best golf in her brief tenure as a Boilermaker, Natasha Kiel placed ninth at 2-over (73-72-73—218).

 
BOILERMAKERS IN THE RANKINGS

• After winning the first two tournaments to start the season, Purdue enters the weekend ranked No. 17 in Golfweek's national rankings.
• The Boilermakers are also No. 23 in Golf Channel's power rankings courtesy of college golf reporter Brentley Romine.

 
FLYING HIGH WITH BYRD

• Now a perfect 2-for-2 this fall, the Boilermakers have won multiple tournaments in a season for the first time in seven years.
• The last time Purdue won its first two tournaments of the season was the start of the 2005-06 campaign.
• Winning the Boilermaker Classic and the Mary Fossum Invitational, Purdue won back-to-back tournaments for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
• The team title also marked Purdue's third tournament title in just the second season under head coach Zack Byrd; the Boilermakers won three tournaments over the previous six seasons before Byrd's arrival.
• Nine of the 40 lowest team rounds in program history have occurred under Byrd, including the school record 270 (-18) at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic earlier this month.
• Out of 14 tournaments with Byrd leading the way, the Boilermakers have produced seven of the best 50 team totals (54 holes) in school history, an astounding 50 percent rate of cracking the record book's Top 50.

 
HOME COURSE PROTECTED

• Purdue protected its home course, starting the 2023-24 season by beating 14 other teams to win the Boilermaker Classic (Sept. 4-5).
• The Boilermakers finished the 54-hole event 12-under par (296-270-286—852) on the Kampen-Cosler Course at the Birck Boilermaker Complex, six shots ahead of runner-up Alabama.
• The 54-hole team total matched the fourth-lowest score in school history alongside the Boilermakers' performance at the 2008 Indiana Invitational.
• Kan Bunnabodee paced Purdue with a final round 69 (-3) to finish runner-up on the individual leaderboard at 9-under. Her 207 (75-63-69) matched her career low and tied for the third-best 54-hole total in program history with the help of a school-record 63 in the second round.
• Jocelyn Bruch cracked the Top 10 for the first time in her career. She placed sixth with a career-low 212 (69-69-74), breaking her previous best by five strokes.
• Momo Sugiyama finished another tournament in red figures, firing a 215 (-1) with a 69 sandwiched in between rounds of 73. Starting her second season as a Boilermaker, she recorded her fourth Top 10, tying for ninth on the individual leaderboard.

 
SCHOOL RECORDS BROKEN

• On the first day of the 2023-24 season, a pair of school records were broken in the second round of the Boilermaker Classic.
• The Boilermakers fired a 270 (-18) in the second round to break the program record for team-low round by five strokes, besting the previous record of 275 shot by the 2011 Boilermakers at the Administaff Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate.
• Kan Bunnabodee's 63 along with 69s (-3) from Jocelyn Bruch, Ashley Kozlowski and Momo Sugiyama produced the school-record round of 18-under par.
• Bunnabodee became the first Boilermaker in history to shoot 63, recording nine birdies and nine pars to break current LPGA member Paula Reto's record 64 that stood for 11 years.

 
PRESEASON B1G HONOREES

• A trio of Boilermakers were named Big Ten Preseason Women's Golf Watch List, the conference office announced ahead of the season. Kan Bunnabodee, Ashley Kozlowski and Momo Sugiyama received the recognition.
• Bunnabodee, a 2022 First Team All-Big Ten honoree, played in all eight spring tournaments last season after missing the fall due to injury.
• Last season, Kozlowski posted a 73.75 stroke average over 32 rounds (11 tournaments) to rank second on the team. Thirteen of those rounds were par-or-better, a team best, which included a season-low 68.
• Sugiyama earned Second Team All-Big Ten accolades after leading Purdue in stroke average (73.31), team-low rounds (14), rounds in the 60 (6) and Top 5 finishes (3) throughout the 2022-23 campaign. Her six rounds in the 60s matched a single-season school record, and she fired a 2-under 142 (73-69) at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic for the second-best 36-hole total in program history.

 
2022-23 RECAP

• In the first season under head coach Zack Byrd, the Boilermakers earned their eighth straight NCAA Regional berth and nearly qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second year in-a-row.
• Byrd's first spring in charge was highlighted by leading Purdue to the team title at the Tulane Classic, the first tournament victory since 2018.
• Purdue produced four Top 5 finishes throughout the season.
• Momo Sugiyama provided an immediate impact in her first season as a Boilermaker. The Hawaii transfer recorded six rounds in the 60s to tie a single-season school record, while earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors at the end of the season.
• Four Boilermakers appeared in at least 10 of the 12 tournaments on the schedule: Sugiyama (12), Danielle du Toit (12), Ashley Kozlowski (11) and Jocelyn Bruch (10). Du Toit graduated, but Purdue returns the other three starters.
• After missing the fall due to injury, Kan Bunnabodee bounced back by playing in all eight spring tournaments and cracked the Top 20 in four of them.

 
NEXT ON THE TEE

• After tournaments in back-to-back weeks, the Boilermakers have one month away from competition.
• Purdue concludes the fall in typical fashion, traveling to Wilmington, North Carolina for the Landfall Tradition (Oct. 27-29).
• The Boilermakers have ended the fall season there every year since 2011.